Wire-wiping apparatus.



L. G. STEELE.

WIRE WIPING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 2, 1912.

Patented Nov. 11, 1913.

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LAWRENCE CARR STEELE, 0F BEAVER, PENNSYLVANIA.

WIBE-WIPING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed February 2, 1912 Serial No; 674,981.

water and molten zinc, and a wiper. Wip-' ing such wire, after it has passed through the bath of molten zinc, is an essential step in the process of its manufacture. In the first place, the wiping accomplishes a large saving in the quantity of zinc used per unit length of wire; and, in the second place, when the wire is not wiped, the Zinc coating will scale off when the wire is twisted. The apparatus heretofore employed for such wiping has usually consisted of a pair of oppositely disposed wipers (consistingof holders provided with removable pads) be tween which the wire passes, the said wipers being movable to and from wire-wiping position. In the operation of such apparatus it has been found necessary, in order to prevent injury to the pads, to move the wiper from operative position at such times as the splices or joints pass by. Furthermore, it has beenfound that the best wiping is accomplished when the pads are intermittently replacedor adjusted in their holders. Both of these steps have been accomplished simultaneously. The workman, who may be attending the apparatus, observing a splice approaching, moves the wipers from operative position; and, while in such removed position, he adjusts or replaces the pad in the holder, and then causes the wiper to return again to operative position. On account of the speed of the advancing wire it has been found that, during such times as the wiper is held in inoperative position, a substantial. length of the wire passes by unwiped, and such length must, of course, be removed and used as scrap.

My invention relates to wire wiping apparatus, and the object ofmy invention is to provide an apparatus, which willefficiently Patented Nov. 11,1913.

wipe an advancing length of wire, andwhich will reduce to a minimum the amount of unwlped wlre adjacent "to the splices.

In the accompanying drawing, which forms part of my specification, Figure 1 is an end elevation of a portion. of aseries of wipers .embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view, taken on the line II, II, Fig. 1, showing a wiper in normal operative position; and Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 and taken on the line II, II, Fig. 1, showing the preferred operation of the wiper as a splice passes by.

In the figures like parts are indicated by like numerals.

In the practice of my invention, I arrange a series of wipers in such a manner that they may act successively upon an advancmg length of wlre; and in such a manner that, during the interval which elapses while one wiper is moving away from and the form, but as shown herein are cylindrical cup shaped receptacles, are so mounted upon the disks'thatthe pad-holders will come to wire wiping position in pairs, the pairs in this particular arrangement forming, when suitably-provided with pads 14, wipers 3,

;3', 4, P etc. The disk 1 may be rotatably mounted upon a cylindrical shaft 8; and the.

disk 2 maybe rotatably mounted upon a suitable slot-provided sleeve 9, which in turn may be mounted upona fixed angular shaft 10,.and may be held yieldingly toward the disk 1,- as by springs ll mounted, a

cated by the arrowa, may-be wiped by the wiper 3, 8 and, when a splice (such as is illustrated at 15) is about to pass between the said'wiper 3, 3 the workman in charge of the apparatus may rotate the disks in any desired manner,-.and preferablyin the direction of the moving wire. After I fecting automatically the successive opera- 7 tion of the series of wipers.

Such an end maybe attained in any desired manner and may be. adapted to any form of wipers.

the particular wipers shown herein, such 'anend may be attained by providing means for holding the wiper-provided disks 1 and :2 from rotating, by reason of the frictional contact of the advancing wire 13 with the V operating pads 1 1;- and further by so arranging the said: holding means that they will be rendered'inefl'ective the advance of a splice in the wire. I

Th'e holding-means preferably consists of a triggenprovided onone end with a notch 16,- adapted to engage successively teeth 17,

I securedto the disk 2, and provided on the other end with a slot 18, through which the advancing length of wire passes. The. trigger is pivoted, as at 29, to a support 23, and may be held yieldingly in tooth-engaging position by a spring 20. In this construction it is desired to have the teeth 17 correspond in number to the number of wipers mounted on the disk and the arrangement is such that each disk .17, when engaged by the notch 16, is effective to hold one of the wipers 8, 3f, 4:, 1, etc., in opera- I tive position. Such holding-means may be rendered ineffective, when a splice advances toward the wipers,- by soproportioning the slot 18 that the smooth wire will pass freely therethrough, but that a splice 15 will engage the sides of the slot and move the trigger from its holding position.

It will be understood of this construction that, when the disks are notheld from at on, t e ad a ci g i w y i rictional ngag m nt Withthe p (1111156 the disks to rotate; and by such rotation wiper (6,6 will advance to operative po: sition, their further advance being checked i the notch. 16 engaging the neXt successirezs oiq l F rth n s ef t Will b see during such t me as one wiper is. movlng from operative pos tion the other dvanci g here o, th pli e w l Pa y without comin in c ntact' with either wi er s is h ivni F g.- 3 Qt h draw n order to more certa nly effect suffic ent rotation of the said disks 1 and 2. to cause .11. succ edin inerie h wn her i a 691s ad ance, 0 op r t ve Ire it I preferably p'rovide one of the disks, such he disk 2., w h e-" s 'i s of iitwa lyextending fingers 19, preferably grooved 'at the ends as, shown and arranged in alternation withthe pad-holders; and I provide abutment, such as rollers 21 and 21 over which the advancing wire may pass. The said rollers are arranged to oppose the fingers 19, and the fingers are so disposed with relation to the wipers that, as a wiper passes beyond frictional engagement with the wire, a finger will come into such frictional engagement and cause the disks to continue to rotate until stopped by the trigger. The operation of such arrangement is particularly illustrated in Fig. 3, where the wiper 3, 3* is shown as passing from operative position, the wiper 6, 6 advancing to operative position, and a finger 19 being engaged, and caused to move onward, by the advancing wire 13.

The apparatus heretofore described may be used. singly, or a number of such series of wipers may be mounted together to the end that a plurality of wires, moving in parallel relation to each other, may be simultaneously wiped. Such an arrangement is particularly illustrated in Fig. 1, wherein I have shown a series of disks 1 mounted upon a common shaft 8, and a series of cooperating disks 2 mounted upon a common shaft 10. These shafts may be secured to a suitable frame 22, in any desired manner, the said frame being but partly shown in the drawings.

It will be understood that my wire-wiping apparatus may be used to advantage for other purposes than that herein described.

Furthermore, it will be understood that any desired number of wipers may be arranged to operate successively upon an advancing length of wire, the number shown herein being selected for convenience of illustration.

I do not wish to limit myself to the construction shown herein, or to the details of such construction, for obviously many changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit I H I of my invention.

one W per s shown e e n at s) will pa s f Wipi g p siti a d h 6 I claim as my invention 1. In a wire-wiping apparatus, the combination of a rotatably mounted member having a plurality of pad-holders and a corresponding number 1 of abutments secured thereto, and a pivotally mounted fingerhav- ;ing one arm held yieldingly in the path of said abutments toengage therewithand a second arm extending in the path of advancing length of wire, said second finger arm being adapted to be engaged and moved by a splice in such wire,

2. In a wire-wiping apparatus, the combination of a pair of rotatably mounted disks, means for coordinate rotation of said disks, a series of pad-holders secured to each of said disks and arranged thereon to cooperate in pairs, and means for holds ing said disks against rotation, said holdingmeans adapted to be rendered ineifective by a splice on an advancing length of wire, substantially as described.

3. In a wire-wiping apparatus the combination of a pair of disks each provided with a series of wiping pad-holders eflective successively to wipe an advancing length of wire, the said disks rotatable by the advance of such wire to bring successive padholders to wiping position, a' finger lying in the path of such wire and normally holding the said disk against rotation and in wire wiping position, the said finger adapted to be rendered inefiectiveby the advance of a splice in such wire to hold the said disk against rotation, substantially as described.

4. In a Wire-Wiping apparatus, the combination of a pair of rotatably mounted disks, means for coordinate rotation of said disks, and a series of pad holders secured to each of the said disks and arranged thereon to cooperate in successive pairs to Wipe an advancing length of wire, one of the said disks being yieldingly mounted to move transversely of the line of advance of such wire, and means for holding said disks against rotation while cooperating pairs of pad-holders are wiping a continuous length of wire, substantially as described.

5. In a wire-wiping apparatus, the combination of a pair of rotatably mounted disks each provided with a series of padholders and with interlocking teeth, a series of abutments secured to one of the said disks, and a finger adapted to engage successively the said abutments, and thereby hold said disks against rotation, substantially as described. 7

6. In'a wire-wiping apparatus, the combi nation of a pair of rotatably mounted disks, a series of pad-holders secured to each of said disks and arranged thereon to cooperate in pairs, a series of outwardly extending fingers secured to one of said disks and lying one between each of said pad-holders, a series of abutments secured to said fingerprovided disk, and a trigger yieldingly held Within engagement range of said abutment, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

I LAWRENCE CARR STEELE.

Witnesses;

FRANCIS J. TOMASSON, J. 'HERBERT BRADLEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

